Authority Certificates

An Authority Certificate is a legal document that protects sacred sites from damage by setting out the conditions for carrying out specific works on an area of land and/or sea.

It is important that applicants provide as much detail as possible about the proposed works under application. The final Authority Certificate will be issued only for the proposal specified by the applicant, and any use or works not specified on the Authority Certificate will fall outside of the legal protection afforded by the Authority Certificate.

An application cannot be processed until a boundary is determined. The AAPA may refuse an application if insufficient information is provided.

All applications are charged a lodgement fee of $80 (57 revenue units). Please note GST is not applicable.

Once an application is submitted, the Authority will issue an estimate of cost to the applicant. Work on the application will not commence until costs are accepted.

Costs are based on staff time, travel expenses, Aboriginal custodian fees and administration costs as defined by the NT Aboriginal Sacred Sites Regulations.

The AAPA does not make a profit from the charges and only recovers the cost of processing Authority Certificate applications.